3090–What_All_Poetrys_For.html

What All Poetry’s For

To all of you who feature but who rarely stoop to read
Perhaps you ought to pause a while and think
Unless somebody’s reading what you wrote to meet a need
Your writing will be just a waste of ink
Or are you too important to read lesser writers’ art
Even Pope and Keats and Shakespeare had to find a place to start

When I read a book by Rowling I don’t think “that’s rather nice”
But she has never read a piece of mine
If you want lots of readers let me give you some advice
Don’t sneer at others while you sit and whine
Go out and look for poets who will challenge how you write
It won’t take long to find one with the talent to excite

I only started writing after reading verse for years
My mind is filled with greater men than me
Who spilt my tea with laughter and who watered it with tears
The best and worst of English poetry
So when you’ve stooped to feature take your time and read some more
And maybe you’ll remember what all poetry is for!